A bill in the Tennessee House that would have prohibited open containers of alcohol in vehicles has died.

The House Committee on State and Local Government’s subcommittee recently voted down the bill, effectively killing it for the year.

Under Tennessee law, drivers are prohibited from having an open alcoholic beverage, but passengers 21 years of age or older are free to drink while in the vehicle.

HB307, sponsored by Rep. Susan Lynn, R-Mt. Juliet, sought to eliminate the open container provision in state law. It called for violators to get up to a $500 fine and/or six months in jail.

Tennessee is required to spend a chunk of its federal highway funds on traffic safety because the state doesn’t have a ban on open containers of alcohol in vehicles.

The state is one of about a dozen nationwide that allows open alcohol containers in vehicles. Last year, that distinction forced the state to pull 3 percent, or about $12 million, out of the highway construction budget and put it to other uses.

The federal government mandated in 2001 that states either pass open container laws or spend a percentage of federal highway dollars on traffic safety projects such as installing cables to prevent crossover accidents and drunken driving checkpoints.

Despite the bill’s failure in the House, a Senate version of the bill – SB89 – remains active. It is in the Senate Transportation Committee.